I'm really struggling at the HARD level with my fictious league. The Detroit Tigers are my team, I've averaged 55-60 wins my first three seasons. Each season I am hanging around for about the first 20 games, then poof! I think one of my problems is that I don't want to micro-manage to the point of setting defensive replacements, platoons, etc. I just like setting my lineups between each game and simming the games. Right now my relief pitching is really very good, but my starting pitching is heart-breaking. If anyone doesn't believe that "pitching wins championships", they're nuts.

I had Bobby take over the Braves after 27 games... Bobby was 77-58, and the team was 88-74. Won the NL West. Got beat by the Cubbies in 5. wound up with a 3-year extension. just starting the 1981 amateur draft. My league is sorta historical. took the players available in 1980 and ran a draft. lineup looks like this:

I started a league in OOTP4 that I would sim by the week and make the Monday changes. I imported it into v5 during the 2008 season. I turned on Manager Mode and took the team I was playing out (Chicago Cubs). When the season ended, I turned down my contract, hoping I could negotiate a new one. When I learned you were gone when you said that, I went to Florida, who offered the most money. It's 2014 now and I'm still with the Marlins, fresh off my first WS win after 5 consecutive playoff appearances. I had several WS rings with the Cubs in v4, but v5 never knew about them.

I created another play out league when I got v5. I was fired from the Cubs after 6 seasons (don't recall the record) and went to Kansas City (they had an opening and I wanted to try the AL). I turned the team around in three years. Then my computer died and I lost the league.

I have a 6 year career - manager role playing - going now. Had 3 years with SF missed expections in year 3 and got canned (we had been to playoffs the previous 2 years).

Signed with Montreal for 2 years - had two winning seasons from a team that lost the previous 3 years -- then got a 2 year extension. And am entering the last year.. so we will see.

Had a lot of veterans go FA and two players retire and the owner thinks I should make the playoffs. Signed my ace pitcher for $15 million for 4 years (he is 30 now) and will be 35 at the end of contract ... Hope he lasts.

Started married ... got divorced ... and got remarried at Montreal No children and don't want any although the game thinks I do ...

In my first year of managing.. 11 games into the season, my team owner fired me. I was 6-5.. Got a job the next year.. with the same team. Got to the All-Star game, with a 51-30 record and got fired. Got another job with a much more laidback owner and I'm playing in September right now. I'm about .500, but it's an improvement over last year's team.

Needless to say, my first team hasn't won the WS ring or even got to the playoffs.

It's fairly easy to go indefinitely, largely thanks to the AI's willingness to trade top prospects for soon-to-be-fading stars. But I usually get a little bored at around the 15-20 season mark, around the time my last star prospect from the initial draft retires. So I start over, playing with fire by taking a lot of prospects early in the initial draft and hoping my handful of vets can do enough to keep me from getting fired the first 2-3 years. After that it's dynasty time. This is playing medium difficulty.

I shouldn't talk too cocky though because I see reds1 managed a 122-win season. My record is 121.

What I'd like to accomplish is to finish a season with my players occupying 28 of the 30 top-three category leader slots at the side of the standings page. Not counting hitting streak, which is a bit of a fluke thing, and considering that 30 of 30 would require sweeping the top 3 in saves, which might not be possible even if your team went 161-1. The best I've done so far is 21 of the 30 slots.

I started my manager mode career in a fictional league at age 33, I think it was. I'm now 72 years old and still managing quite well.
I spent my first two seasons leading a team to last place finishes when I got canned. I then signed on with a new team, and have been there ever since. Owner is a patient man (and must be older than dirt to have owned the team over 40 years). I usually go to the World Series about every 2-3 years.
Like many have stated, it is quite common to trade 30ish year old stars (or even late 20s who are just coming up on contract renewal) for young prospects. Occasionally, I get a guy or two I either drafted or traded for right after the draft because I wanted to draft them who I let play their entire career with my team. I RARELY sign any free agents in the offseason. My youth is too good. Right now, I think I have my entire AAA and AA filled with 3+ blue star players. As a result, I am getting bored with it. Only reason I continue with this league before starting the new one I have already designed is because I want to see how far my son gets. He is currently in my AA.

I think my career winning percentage is .600+. My next league I am going to play on the hardest level, rather than the "normal" level.

I do not have a pic because I retired & started a new career after my 5000 win. I was with the Rockies for a period of 15 years on HARD & had a neutral owner. I ended up winning 7 WS & getting there 10 times along with 6 years with 100 wins & one of which was 122 wins. I was also 13th in hr & has #1's in all the pitching cat & had no pitcher with more then 4 stars. Though I was lucky & had no injuries. Also I would like to have a question answered. What does the diff level have on the game? I notice more injuries. Is talent decreased? FA harder to sign.

I do not have a pic because I retired & started a new career after my 5000 win. I was with the Rockies for a period of 15 years on HARD & had a neutral owner. I ended up winning 7 WS & getting there 10 times along with 6 years with 100 wins & one of which was 122 wins. I was also 13th in hr & has #1's in all the pitching cat & had no pitcher with more then 4 stars. Though I was lucky & had no injuries. Also I would like to have a question answered. What does the diff level have on the game? I notice more injuries. Is talent decreased? FA harder to sign.

This from the long awaited OOTP manual: "Difficulty level will decide how hard it is for you to succeed in the game."
I know, it doesn't answer my question either.